The Black Cello Mafia
Act 3: The Romance and The Fall
November 4th; Manehattan Royal Ball.
Octavia stepped out of the carriage and swept her black coat out from under the door. Ahead was a brightly lit ball house, full of chatter and an ensemble playing off in the distance. A garden lay in the front lawn, a beautiful decadence of brightly colored flowers of different shapes and sizes. Ponies all dressed in gallant dresses and suits occupied the promenade and filled the air with varied smells and sights to take in.
Octavia smiled at all of this, feeling her roots of being a noble family take hold. Quickly joining the river of ponies, Octavia was ushered into the main hall. In the back the ensemble was playing Canon in D minor, while the large circle collective of royals and high society ponies danced in key with the music. The lighting was warm and amber, giving the transitional chill of Fall and Winter a break. The smell of gourmet food wafted through the air, and Octavia trailed after it until she reached a room of buffet and rich red wine. Expertly crafted food with rare spices and finely baked desserts populated the table, with ponies crowding around to try the goods.
Octavia walked over to the table and poured herself a glass of wine. Can't believe this is here. This place is for the royals and government, aside from high society, this shouldn't be here, should it? Octavia shrugged, taking a rather large sip of the smooth silk of a drink. Octavia's ears pricked as a hoof rested on her shoulder, turning her head to see a unfamiliar mare. But she knew who she was anyway.
It was the white mare with the blue mane. She was dressed in a sparkling red dress, spanning from her shoulders and opening in a two piece shawl that covered her back legs. She wore violet glasses with black piano polished rims, and storm grey shoes that elegantly reflected the surrounding lights. And her approach was the best of all.
"Man, you are hot." She said with a smirk.
Octavia was caught off guard. All she could do was stare into the violet glasses at the abruptness of her proclaimed hotness.
"Uh...Thanks?" Octavia responded.
Shit, i didn't think she would be here! What do i do?
The white mare nodded her head with a sinister smile arching on her face, showing pearl white teeth that sparkled in the chandelier light. She took her hoof off of Octavia's shoulder.
"Yeah, all the ponies here are so posh and boring, but I when i saw you across the room I couldn't help but want to get to know you." The mare said, turning around Octavia to pour herself a glass of wine and sat down next to her.
Octavia tried to resist the blood rushing to her cheeks at the flattering, turning her head to a loud crash in the room. A guest had pushed a servant to the floor whose drinks castrated all over the floor, while the group of high society near them laughed hysterically. The mare sitting next to Octavia clicked her tongue.
"I hate ponies like that. They piss me off so bad."
Octavia agreed within herself, nodding a little at the mares sentiment. Taking another sip, she looked to her left to see the mare snap her head to the entrance. Slowly, she placed her wine on the table and stood up, looking a little fearful all the way.
"I'm sorry Ms. Hotness, but duty calls." And off the mare went, galloping into the main hall.
Octavia watched her go with curiosity sparking through her. I should follow her. I have enough time to kidnap Blue Blood.
But just as she stepped into the main hall, she heard a voice call her name that sent shivers down her spine and caused her face to twist.
Octavia turned her head to see her mother trotting toward a crowd of ponies, with a mix of surprise and anger on her face. Dressed in a bouncing velvet dressed and rolled up hair that glittered. As she reached her, she slapped Octavia in the face, making her her stagger and rub her cheek.
"What the hell!?" Octavia said, clenching her teeth and looking furiously at her mother who did nothing but purse her lips and pout.
She quickly broke and grew a snarl. "HOW DARE YOU PUT A GUN TO MY HEAD AND THREATEN TO SHOOT ME! I AM YOUR MOTHER! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?" She yelled, squaring her front hooves and growling.
Octavia felt a little blood well in her mouth. She collected it in a wad and spit it out on a 5000 bit rug.
"Go fuck yourself mother." Octavia said, walking past her mother and into the ensemble hall.
All she could her was a large squeal of rage and the name of her father being yelled out. Octavia hurried to escape the growing scene after an aforementioned death threat was yelled out for every pony to hear. Climbing up the stairs to the second level balcony, there she saw some identified executives of the pegasi mafia standing by a fountain and conversation. Octavia scanned the scene in front of her, finding a way to become unnoticeable while being able to eavesdrop on the conversation.
Standing by a stationary roller, she poured her self another glass of wine and sat within a close group of rich earth ponies. Flicking her ears, she started to listen on the conversation.
"...and just like that, he fell the the ground with blood spurting out of his throat." A stallion ended a none then less gruesome story.
A couple hardy laughs sounded out.
"Man, I love that story, Hey what did Spit want us to do here again? I've only focused on the hotties and getting drunk." Another said, a chuckle in his voice.
A third coughed. "She wants us to kill a mare."
"And what does she look like Tumble? Were half drunk and the briefing was like 12 hours ago, I don't remember shit from yesterday."
"She has two different hues of blue in her mane, and an 8th note for a mark."
A pause went out for a couple moments before another spoke.
"I think I saw her come in here like ten minutes ago."
Just then, the lights darkened and the music stopped. Octavia stopped eavesdropping and looked around the dim concert hall. Loud murmurs of ponies made the room vibrate, then a crash of cymbals exploded on the stage.
The lights shot in a second, showing an entirely assembled orchestra break out in Death is the Road to Awe, giving the former warm and ambient atmosphere a more darker and louder feel. Octavia glanced around the hall, seeing Prince Blue Blood standing with a disgusted look on his face. He quickly ducked into a door, and Octavia followed after with her head tucked low.
I need to get him out of here, from what the pegasi said this place might go to shit if they screw it up.
Octavia went in through the door, stepping on to a staircase. Presuming that it led to a third floor, she trotted the stairs as fast and quietly as she could, eventually breaking into a long hallway that ended with a stained glass portrait of Celestia all the way at the end. There was no sign of the rude prince, while Octavia uneasily eyed all of the doors in the hallway.
There were 12 doors, six on each side with no indication of any being recently opened or closed. The hallway was eerily quiet, making Octavia begin to grow a fit of anxiety in her chest. Fighting her own inhibitions, she took a step forward as something hard and cold crashed on her head. She fell to the ground, vision blurring and body growing cold all the way down. Time seemed to slow down as she watched her hair fall out of place and the doors turn crazily with the rest of the world. Two hooves jolted her from the shoulders, and a cold and hating voice descended down into her ears.
"Don't worry you little sack of shit, this will be all over soon. I swear, I will rip you limb from limb for what you did to me." The voice spat out, literally spitting into her ear. Then, a hard hoof to the temple, and darkness consumed her vision.
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So I finally finished this chapter/Act after coming back from my hiatus and my drunken stupor of a thanksgiving dinner. Toughed out the hangover to type this.
So, Act 3 is when everything starts to go to shit. The three characters are closer to meeting each other, Applejack is found alive but captive, Filthy is planning something, and Octavia's been knocked out.
So what do you think so far? Interesting enough? I think so.
Thanks for reading and happy belated Thanksgiving!